This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something we may get a small commission at no extra cost to you. (Learn more).
As you make your way through FFXIV, you’ll notice there are two types of groups or parties you might end up joining:
A “light party” that consists of 4 to 7 players
Or a “full party” that has 8 members
Light parties are normally used for guildhests and dungeons, while full parties are used in trials and raids. When using the Duty Finder, you will automatically be placed in a group of either four or eight people depending on the type of content you are looking to do.
While the number of members in each setup is the most obvious difference between the two, there are a few more details to note between light and full parties.
Limit Break Levels
Reaper Readying LB3
Once you join a party, your group will gain access to the “Limit Break” gauge and start to fill it up. Limit Breaks are powerful abilities that change depending on the role of the party member who uses it.
There are three levels of limit breaks a party can use.
The higher the level of a Limit Break, the more potent it will be.
Using a higher-level Limit Break will require using more bars from the Limit Break gauge. Access to the number of bars in the gauge will depend on the type of party you’re in and where you are in a duty.
Light parties will initially have access to 1 Limit Break bar, with the second bar becoming available during the fight with a dungeon’s final boss.
Full parties will start out with 2 Limit Break bars and gain the 3rd when facing the final boss of a raid.
Limit Break Gauge
Instances that require full parties that only involve one fight such as trials and certain Normal Raids will start with 3 Limit Break bars right away.
The Limit Break gauge is a shared resource among party members. This means that when one person uses a Limit Break, the gauge will need to be filled up again before anyone else can use another one.
Note: using a Limit Break will deplete the gauge. This includes any bars that aren’t filled up all the way.
The effect of the Limit Break will depend on the role of the party member that uses it. Each job will have its own unique animation when using a level 3 Limit Break (LB3).
Additionally, healers will gain an extra effect when using LB3.
Sage Casting LB3
Here’s a quick rundown of the effects of using the Limit Break per class:
Role
Jobs
Effect
Tank
Paladin, Warrior, Dark Knight, Gunbreaker
Reduces damage taken by all party members.
Healer
White Mage, Scholar, Astrologian, Sage
Restore a portion of HP to all party members. Also revives any KO’d allies when used at level 3.
Melee DPS
Dragoon, Monk, Ninja, Samurai, Reaper
Single-target attack
Ranged Physical DPS
Bard, Machinist, Dancer
Straight line AoE attack
Ranged Magical DPS
Black Mage, Summoner, Red Mage
Targeted AoE attack
Party Bonus Effects
Puppet’s Bunker Alliance Raid
Joining a party will also give a bonus to each member’s stats depending on the party composition.
For each unique role included in a party, players will gain a 1% increase to their strength, vitality, dexterity, mind, and intelligence up to a maximum of 5%.
This means that running dungeons with the standard format of 1 tank, 1 healer, and 2 DPS will guarantee at least a 3% stat bonus and capping out at 4%.
Full parties will also have a guaranteed 3% bonus, but they have the potential to reach the 5% bonus cap depending on the types of DPS classes that join the party.
Party Bonus Menu
Full parties in Alliance Raids have a better chance at getting the 5% bonus since they don’t follow the typical setup of 2 tanks, 2 healers, and 4 DPS classes. Instead, the default composition for these raids will have more damage dealers, going with 1 tank, 2 healers, and 5 DPS classes in each party.
You can check your current party bonus by opening your party menu and looking at the bottom portion of the window (see the screenshot above).
